Thanks for your fast replies

Its just the standard 1.4 that was in that car. I was thinking about just finding a xr3i from the same era and swaping it over. my dad is very mechanically minded can definately do the swap for me as hes swaped many engines in his time. Ive got a 1955 morris minor that i have kept original, its really easy to work on but with my Escort im not too sure where to start with it. If I find the right donor car it wont be a problem. Just wanted some expertise to find out what the best car would be. I want it quicker but nothing silly.

Just saw this on Ebay which would do the job.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Escort-MK...item414df1ac11

any more thoughts?